Bill Text: CA AB56 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: School facilities: carbon monoxide devices.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)
Status: (Passed) 2013-10-02 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 475, Statutes of 2013. [AB56 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB56-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 56 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 475
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 2, 2013
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 2, 2013
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 9, 2013
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 10, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 3, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 10, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 24, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 2, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 11, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Weber
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Brown, Holden, Maienschein,
and Wieckowski)
(Coauthor: Senator Cannella)
JANUARY 7, 2013
An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 32080) to Chapter
1 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
relating to school facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 56, Weber. School facilities: carbon monoxide devices.
Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998,
requires certain new school facilities construction projects that
require the approval of the Department of General Services, as
specified, to include an automatic fire detection, alarm, and
sprinkler system.
Existing law requires an owner of a dwelling unit intended for
human occupancy to install a carbon monoxide device, as specified, in
each existing dwelling unit having a fossil fuel burning heater or
appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage.
Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, requires the
California Building Standards Commission to approve or adopt proposed
building standards that are submitted by state agencies during an
18-month code adoption cycle.
This bill would require, by July 1, 2015, the State Fire Marshal
to propose for adoption by the commission, appropriate standards for
the installation of carbon monoxide devices in public and private
school buildings that meet specified criteria.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) (1) Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas produced
when fuel, such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood, or charcoal, is burned.
Carbon monoxide can cause harmful health effects by reducing the
delivery of oxygen to the body's organs, such as the heart, brain,
and tissues. The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
are headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and
confusion. Long-term breathing of carbon monoxide can affect the
memory, brain function, behavior, and cognition. According to the
American Medical Association, carbon monoxide is the leading cause of
accidental poisoning deaths in the United States. Gas furnaces and
other fuel-burning appliances are common sources of carbon monoxide
poisoning.
(2) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
estimate that each year more than 400 Americans die from
unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, more than 20,000 visit the
emergency room, and more than 4,000 are hospitalized due to carbon
monoxide poisoning. According to the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, a person cannot see or smell carbon monoxide. At
high levels, carbon monoxide can kill a person in minutes.
(3) The State Air Resources Board estimates that every year carbon
monoxide accounts for between 30 and 40 avoidable deaths, possibly
thousands of avoidable illnesses, and between 175 and 700 avoidable
emergency room and hospital visits.
(4) There are well-documented chronic health effects of acute
carbon monoxide poisoning and prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide,
including, but not limited to, lethargy, headaches, concentration
problems, amnesia, psychosis, Parkinson's disease, memory impairment,
and personality alterations.
(b) In an analysis conducted by the National Fire Protection
Association of nonfire carbon monoxide incidents reported for the
year 2005, 250 carbon monoxide incidents were reported nationwide in
educational facilities. Of these, 150 incidents occurred in school
buildings used for preschool, kindergarten, or grades 1 to 12,
inclusive.
(c) (1) On December 3, 2012, Finch Elementary School in Atlanta,
Georgia, was evacuated after firefighters discovered a carbon
monoxide leak from the school's furnace. Firefighters responded to
the school after reports came in that people at the school were
unconscious. Although no one was found unconscious, firefighters
found people sickened and, in total, 43 students and 10 adults were
taken to the local hospital.
(2) The firefighters detected high and unsafe levels of carbon
monoxide near a furnace, and detected up to 1,700 parts per million
of carbon monoxide in other areas, a very high level of the gas.
(3) The State of Georgia did not require school facilities to
have, and Finch Elementary School did not have, carbon monoxide
detectors. Two states, Maryland and Connecticut, have passed
legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in school facilities.
(d) Senate Bill 183 of the 2009-10 Regular Session (Chapter 19 of
the Statutes of 2010) requires a dwelling unit that is intended for
human occupancy and that has a fossil fuel burning heater or
appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage to have a carbon
monoxide alarm, as specified.
(e) Because carbon monoxide affects individuals differently and
symptoms of exposure can mimic symptoms of common ailments such as
the influenza virus, it is difficult to quantify the exact number of
carbon monoxide incidents in school buildings and it is highly
probable that the number of carbon monoxide incidents is
underreported. Additionally, the number of carbon monoxide incidents
in schools will likely rise in future years as school buildings and
their infrastructure become outdated over time. Carbon monoxide
devices provide a vital, highly effective, and low-cost protection
against carbon monoxide poisoning and these devices should be made
available to every school in California to help prevent students from
being exposed to the effects of carbon monoxide.
SEC. 2. Article 7 (commencing with Section 32080) is added to
Chapter 1 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
to read:
Article 7. Carbon Monoxide Devices
32080. For purposes of this article, "fossil fuel" has the same
meaning as defined in Section 13262 of the Health and Safety Code.
32081. (a) By July 1, 2015, the State Fire Marshal shall propose
for adoption by the California Building Standards Commission, for the
commission's next triennial code adoption cycle, appropriate
standards for the installation of carbon monoxide devices in school
buildings. The proposed building standards shall require carbon
monoxide devices to be installed in public and private school
buildings that meet all of the following criteria:
(1) The school building is constructed pursuant to the 2016
California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code
of Regulations), or any amendments to the California Building
Standards Code which follow.
(2) The school building is used for educational purposes for
kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(3) A fossil fuel burning furnace is located inside the school
building.
(b) A private or public school that uses a school building for
educational purposes for kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, that was built before the adoption of the 2016 California
Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of
Regulations), and has a fossil fuel burning furnace located inside
the school building is encouraged to have a carbon monoxide device
installed in the building.
